What are the symptoms of a real "Flare'?

a REAL flare is when one has consistent symptoms other than no symptoms which would be confirmed by inflammation.

All our flares are variable in symptoms. My flares now are different than what I ended up with when I was diagnosed and started healing and reflaring, etc.

What I may consider a flare, others may consider a blip. I treat my flares very early, others may wait it out until it fits their criteria of a flare.
The start may be increased mucus. The clincher for me is rectal throbbing and pain upon bms, urgency, gut spasming. Frequency is another, but that could mean one, then an hour later another and maybe the same later in the day or evening.


The key is consistency or increase of symptoms....intermittent to me doesn't mean a flare, that would be more connected to food or stress.
q

I consider myself in a flare when I see blood.

To me, a flare means increased frequency and mucus and/or blood. Increased frequency alone doesn't mean a flare to me if it's just for a day, because that could be a reaction to a meal or a virus, but if the increase happens for more than a day and has mucus and/or blood, I know there's inflammation.

I always had a little blood, so for me a flare was urgency and regular spasms (every 20-30 minutes or whenever I'm startled) that made me need to go, and lots and lots of blood and D. I can't say what my gut would look like, because my doc would hold off on scopes until I was out of a flare, so to not make it worse.

Yah. For me too, a flare is when I see blood.

Since many of the symptoms for IBS and IBD are similar, it's hard to know otherwise. I could have had IBD much longer than my first flare, because I've experienced bloating, gas, and severe diarrhea for many years. I don't think I'll ever know.

Well, a flare for me starts with mucous, lots of gas and rumbling, increase in appetite and joint pain. Sometimes at this point I can get a flare under control on my own, without seeing my doctor. Once it gets to the point where I'm waking up at night with painful bm's, or I start having continuous rectal pain, or my stomach cramps worsen significantly, then its time to admit I'm in a full blown flare and its time to see my doctor -- probably for Entocort.

There have been many times that I thought I'd have to be back on prednisone for sure once I went to the doctor, but I was able to get things under control through diet, nicotine gum, bentyl, increasing metamucil, etc., just at the point I was ready to throw in the towel!

I rarely have blood during flares anymore. Just lots and lots of mucous!

Gingerdog

Dr A - LOL! Well, what's some confusing to me, even in one of the brochures from the ccfa they describe a single run to the bathroom as a "flare" - so that someone might say, "gosh, I had 16 flares today." Most of us here generally think of a flare as something that develops, gets treated and ebbs over a month or more (think of Q's remark about being on enemas for at least a month - definitely, that's the way I address it....)

To me, a single urgent bathroom run could be attributable to rich food, an IBS attack, etc - it takes looking at the pattern of a few days. That's what I thought the thread question was asking.

Journey2 - I have not "thrown pred" at a flare for 22 years, and would like to avoid doing so ever again. I hit it with 5 ASA enemas and then cort enemas if the 5 ASAs don't squelch it.

All varies Trixi....you have improvement....that's good.

Takes time to heal....for me to see no bleeding the first year, it was a few months...nightly.

q